The Deal

Reciprocation

 

 

With sweat running down his neck, Jongin put his full concentration on the mirror trying to perfect one move. His body looked to be moving with ease and in perfect rhythm, however, seeing the frustration on his face says otherwise.

 

“Jongin let’s go,” Suho looked back at him looking exhausted.

 

“You guys go on ahead. I’ll stay for a little bit more,” he replied without stopping.

 

They all left him in the practice room except for Kyungsoo who was sitting, leaning against the mirror watching Jongin dance.

 

“Aren’t you going?” Jongin asked him while adjusting his cap.

 

Kyungsoo looked up at him with wide eyes and said, “No, I’ll stay and watch.”

 

Jongin gave him a wry smile. “Can you sit somewhere else? I feel kind of creeped out with you sitting there watching me.”

 

Kyungsoo replied to his request by standing up and moving to the back of the room. While he was doing so, Jongin tried the move one more time except this time he twisted his ankle causing him to stumble. To lessen the pain he stretched it out but it didn’t help much so he plopped on the ground to give his ankle some relief.

 

“Hyung, what are you doing? Let go,” Jongin protested when Kyungsoo hoisted him up from the floor.

 

“I’m taking you to the infirmary,” Kyungsoo told him as if it was the normal thing to do.

 

“Why?” Jongin put his arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulder to make himself more comfortable while he was being dragged.

 

“What do you mean why? You’re clearly in pain.”

 

“It’s no big deal hyung. It happens and since when did we ever go to the infirmary,” Jongin said but did not protest when they stood outside the infirmary.

 

Kyungsoo turned the doorknob, but it was stuck. Peeking through the glass, Kyungsoo yelled out, “Excuse me!” but when no one came out, he knocked on the wall loudly.

 

“Hyung, it’s after school. Everyone in the office probably left already. Let’s just go back. I still need to—” He stopped talking when someone came from behind and gave them a curious look.

 

“Ah! Jiel-ssi right? I didn’t get to introduce myself to you last time. I’m Do Kyungsoo,” he excitedly greeted the newcomer with a big smile on his face.

 

Jiel looked taken aback by his enthusiasm, but responded with a polite smile and a bow of the head. “Is there something you need?” she asked while unlocking the door to the infirmary.

 

Kyungsoo followed after her with Jongin in tow. “Ah ne, Jongin here twisted his ankle while dancing and I wanted it checked out just to make sure.”

 

“Oh, of course,” she gestured for him to sit Jongin on a stool. “The nurse already left, but I can check it out. Has he ever hurt his ankle before?” she asked before kneeling on the ground to diagnose the problem.

 

“Once or twice, but are you qualified for this?” Jongin replied with some worry.

 

“I heard that Jiel-ssi works here after school, right?” Kyungsoo directed his question to her.

 

“Yes, I do volunteer at the infirmary whenever possible and I’ve also had prior training,” she gave Jongin a small smile to ease his worry.

 

She then proceeded to take off Jongin’s shoe. Before it completely came off Kyungsoo gave her a warning, “You might want to wear gloves. Jongin doesn’t like to wear socks so his foot is probably sweaty.” Jongin looked away in embarrassment and gave him a glare.

 

“It’s alright, I would have taken off the socks anyway,” she replied and checked his foot, ankle, lower leg, and even his knee to see if he was hurt anywhere else. “It’s just a mild sprain but it will need to be wrapped.”

 

“So it’s nothing serious then?” Kyungsoo looked relieved when she replied with a nod.

 

“I told you it wasn’t a big deal hyung.”

 

“Jiel-ssi, please tell him he still needs to be careful.”

 

“Um…Kyungsoo-ssi is right. You need to rest your ankle so no dancing for a while and try not to walk on it too much. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to the teacher’s office to get you some ice.”

 

“Ye, thank you!” Kyungsoo seemed so happy.

 

“Hyung, what are you up to?” Jongin shot him a suspicious glare.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You look too happy. And when did you ever hear about her?”

 

“I asked around, is there anything wrong with that?”

 

“Yes, especially since it’s suspicious.”

 

“I think you’re being too paranoid. So…Jiel-ssi is really nice isn’t she? Do you think she has a boyfriend?”

 

“Why, are you interested?”

 

“NO!” Kyungsoo exclaimed and gave him a meaningful glance.

 

Jongin understood what he was trying to convey and said, “Hyung, I told you I’m not interested. And you said it yourself. Jiel-ssi is really nice so I’d rather not hurt her in any way.”

 

“Well maybe you’ll end up falling for her.”

 

“Or maybe I won’t. That’s why it’s better not to do anything.”

 

“Fine whatever you say. Anyway I have to go now so just ask Jiel-ssi to help you. Okay. Bye.” Kyungsoo ran out of the door before Jongin could get a hold of him.

 

When Jiel came back with a bag of ice in her hands she handed it to Jongin and told him to keep it on and off for 15 minutes. “Okay that should be it. You can leave now. Where is Kyungsoo-ssi?”

 

“Ah actually…” Jongin was rubbing the back of his neck. “He left me.”

 

A few minutes later, Jongin was leaning against the wall while Jiel was locking up the infirmary. “Are you sure you won’t be needing my help? You do need to be off of your foot.”

 

“Nah, I’ll be fine. I can just wait herefor my friend. He’s waiting for his girlfriend to finish up with volleyball practice so I can just go with them,” Jongin’s lips turned up a little but the look on his face said that he was uncomfortable.

 

Jiel thought it might be due to pain so she disregarded what he said and put his right arm over her shoulders causing him to be flustered. Jongin tried to take away his arm but she kept it in place with a firm grip. “Please don’t be stubborn. I’m just going to take you to a bench near the school gates where you can easily wait for your friend instead of standing here where you might make your injury worse.”

 

Jiel was helping Jongin down a couple of steps by continuously looking down to make sure he or she wasn’t missing any steps when Sehun and Miyoung came from the side.

 

“Yah Jongin, what happened to you?” Sehun looked up at him from below the stairs.

 

“I sprained my ankle while dancing.”

 

Jiel lifted her head up, “You must be the friend Jongin-ssi was talking about.”

 

After realizing who was helping Jongin down the stairs, Sehun became silent and looked down to avoid her gaze.

 

Miyoung looked to her boyfriend but when he didn’t reply she took it upon herself to do so. “Uh yes, he texted us to help him out.”

 

“That’s great! Please make sure he rests his ankle,” Jiel smiled and gestured for Miyoung to support Jongin by his arms.

 

“Oh, Sehun should do that.” Miyoung gave her an awkward smile, remembering Jongin’s confession and then nudged her boyfriend to help him.

 

As soon as Sehun had a good hold on Jongin, Jiel stepped aside, “I should be going now.”

 

“Thanks for your help Jiel-ssi,” Jongin said with a small smile on his face.

 

“Oh it was nothing, just doing my job. I’ll be leaving then.”

 

“Wait!” Miyoung called out to her. “So you’re Yoon Jiel?” she asked recognizing the name that came out of Jongin’s mouth a few seconds earlier.

 

“Uh yes…I am.”

 

Miyoung gave Jongin a look before saying, “I see…I’m actually having a party next weekend. You should come.”

 

“Thank you for inviting me, but I’ll be busy.”

 

“If you get the chance, please come,” Miyoung handed her a credit card sized envelope. “I’m sure our friends would be happy to meet you.”

 

Not knowing what to do, Jiel accepted the invitation with an uneasy smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”

 

~~~*~~~

 

As soon as she stepped into the party, Jiel knew that she shouldn’t have come. The place was crowded, the music was obnoxiously loud, and just about everyone was holding on to a plastic cup she guessed was filled with alcohol. Those things did not appeal to her. Jiel is someone who loves personal space, enjoys peace and quiet, and she is against underage drinking.

 

She never planned on going, but Kyungsoo was persistent when he found out that she had been invited. He kept mentioning it to her whenever they would cross paths, which happened quite a lot. What she doesn’t know is that he was purposely seeking her out just to bug her about it. Eventually, after hearing from him for the tenth time, she grudgingly said that she would make time.

 

She regretted her decision even more when two guys pulled her into the mosh pit of a dance floor, also called the living room. Jiel was not claustrophobic, but she had a feeling she would develop claustrophobia if she were to stay there with so many sweaty bodies pushing in on her. A few minutes of trying to escape left her breathless and traumatized at some of the things people were doing when they thought no one was paying attention.

 

Out of nowhere, someone’s hand got a good grip on her wrist. Terrified, Jiel tried to shake it off but whoever had a hold on her was strong and tugged her forcefully toward their direction. Seeing that she was actually being dragged out of the congested area, she relaxed and let the unknown person lead her to a secluded area. However, she quickly realized that the person had another motive other than saving her when said person slammed her against the wall and trapped her in between his arms.

 

Looking up, she recognized the tall thin guy as one of Jongin’s friends. He was the one who had helped Jongin get home last week. She also noticed from his red watery eyes that he had been drinking. That and she could smell the alcohol in his breath when he said, “So, Miss Goody Two-Shoes actually came to a party.”

 

“Please get off of me,” Jiel asked in her usual polite way.

 

“I don’t think I will. I feel comfortable in this position,” he smirked and crushed her body in between his and the wall.

 

“Get off!” she tried to push him away after losing her patience.

 

“You never paid attention to me, not even one glance, but Jongin is good enough for you?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Why are you with him? What does he have that I don’t?”

 

“There’s nothing between us.”

 

“That’s not what it looks like.”

 

“Stop accusing me of things I’m not doing. I don’t even know who you are!”

 

“Sehun! That’s my name, don’t tell me you don’t remember!”

 

Jiel’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the anger he was expressing, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’ve only ever met you once and we were never introduced to each other.”

 

Sehun’s head bent backwards as he chuckled darkly, “After all this time, you’re still the same cold-hearted girl that broke my heart.” He then suddenly leaned his face closer to hers and started caressing her arms, “It’s okay because you’re going to make up for what you did to me.”

 

He forced his lips on hers and tightly trapped her in his arms. Jiel was frozen from shock, but as soon as she realized what was happening she tried to get away by slapping him on the chest to no avail. Although she was not responding to his kisses, Sehun looked like he was enjoying himself, especially with that wicked smirk on his lips. After a while, he parted from her to catch a breath and immediately dived back in for her lips. However, this time Jiel reacted quickly enough so that his lips landed on her cheek instead. Unfortunately for her, Sehun was undeterred and kissed down her jaw to her neck.

 

Jiel tried to move away again, but she was unsuccessful just like the last couple of times. Fear started to creep in and a few tears dropped down from desperation. Before the torture could progress any further, Jiel saw two people passing by.

 

“Help!” Jiel called out to them. They both turned to look. Jiel’s view of the other person was blocked but she quickly recognized the other, “Kyungsoo-ssi!”

 

“Jiel-ssi!” Kyungsoo ran toward them with Jongin right behind him.

 

Jongin and Kyungsoo tried to remove Sehun off of her but when he refused and continued what he was doing, Jongin wrapped his arm around Sehun’s neck and put him in a chokehold. Once he got Sehun away from Jiel, Jongin immediately let go so as not to cause him any harm. In the meantime, Kyungsoo tried to console Jiel by giving her a hug and telling her that she was okay now.

 

“Yah, Oh Sehun! What were you doing?!” Kyungsoo yelled at him while Jongin held him back.

 

“I’m just trying to claim what’s mine,” Sehun replied nonchalantly.

 

“I told you not to drink! You can’t even differentiate who your girlfriend is,” Kyungsoo continued to reprimand him while comforting Jiel.

 

“You mean she’s not Miyoung?” Sehun acted clueless.

 

“Of course not,” Jongin answered.

 

Sehun rubbed the back of his neck and bowed his head in apology, effectively hiding the smirk on his face.

 

“We’ll let you go this time, but next time something like this happens again I will personally tell Miyoung what you did,” Kyungsoo warned him.

 

“Okay hyung, I’ll go look for Miyoung,” Sehun brushed Jongin aside and sluggishly walked away.

 

“Wait…Jongin go with him so he doesn’t do this again,” Kyungsoo ordered, but he suddenly got an idea and changed his mind, “Never mind, I’ll go with him so watch over Jiel-ssi.” Kyungsoo gave Jongin a meaningful smile before he forcefully dragged the taller maknae away from the scene.

 

Jongin heaved a big sigh, but seeing how shaken Jiel was he decided to humor Kyungsoo just this once. Taking her in his arms, he softly told her that she was safe now. Jiel responded to his comfort by wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face on the side of his neck.

 

“I’m sorry for what happened. Please forgive him, he probably drank too much. Although drinking is no excuse for his behavior.”

 

“…” Jiel could do nothing but nod.

 

~~~*~~~

 

“Noona, please watch over Sehun,” Kyungsoo dumped him onto Miyoung while she was talking to some friends.

 

“What happened?”

 

“He drank too much and caused some problems.”

 

“What did he do?” Miyoung asked concerned.

 

“Mmm…” Sehun groaned as he lifted his two arms and heavily leaned on top of Miyoung’s shoulders.

 

“Just take him somewhere he won’t cause anymore problems,” Kyungsoo said before leaving to avoid any more of her questions.

 

“I’ll be back,” Miyoung sighed and hesitantly left her friends to help Sehun upstairs to her room.

 

Once she laid him down on her bed, she made a move to leave but Sehun got a hold of her wrist. “Stay,” he stated like a command.

 

“Sehun-ah, I’m needed at the party. Just rest here and then you can come find me.”

 

“No, you’re not,” Sehun glared at her.

 

Miyoung shook his hand off and turned her back to him, “You can’t always tell me what to do. I can think for myself.”

 

“I’m your boyfriend and I—”

 

“Well lately you haven’t been acting like one. You know…Jongin told me he likes me,” Miyoung tried to get a certain response from him. However, Sehun was lost in deep thought upon hearing her words. It was not at all the reaction that she wanted. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

 

“…”

 

“Fine! Don’t come looking for me later. Just go home,” Miyoung said with a hurt expression then slammed the door behind her.

 

The next day, Sehun was knocking on the door of a two-story house. When the door opened he was met with the sight of a lady with slightly tanned skin and long black hair. “Oh, Sehun come in. Jongin is in his room.”

 

“Thank you Mrs. Kim,” Sehun bowed before walking toward the stairs.

 

Without knocking, Sehun entered the room with Jongin’s back turned to him.

 

“Mom, I told you to knock.”

 

“It’s me.”

 

“Oh, Sehun what are you doing here?”

 

Sehun heaved a sigh and sat on Jongin’s bed. “We’re friends, right?”

 

Jongin looked worried as he joined Sehun on his bed. “Yeah.”

 

“Then let me tell you a story. When I was in middle school there was this one girl…that I really liked. I liked her so much that I followed her to high school.”

 

“Sehun I don’t—”

 

“Just listen. Anyway, I was so sure she wouldn’t reject me. That’s why I finally confessed to her during the second week of the start of high school, but she rejected me. She didn’t even let me speak. The only thing I was able to do was stand in front of her with a flower in my hand, as she rejected me with a simple word, ‘No.’ I was so devastated that I transferred schools.”

 

“Sehun why are—”

 

“Do you know who that girl was? That girl was Yoon Jiel.”

 

“Jiel? You mean—”

 

“Yeah, the same Jiel from last night.”

 

“So were you drunk last night or did you do that to her on purpose?”

 

“Both.”

 

“Sehun I know what it’s like to get rejected but you shouldn’t have done that,” Jongin looked at him in disappointment.

 

“I know I shouldn’t have tried to get revenge that way. That’s why you’re going to help me get it another way.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I want you to break her heart the way she did mine. You’re going to lead her on and when she confesses to you, you will reject her.”

 

“Sehun, I can’t do that. Jiel is a very nice person. She—”

 

Sehun looked Jongin straight in the eyes, “Yes you will, because I have something or someone you want.”

 

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

 

“I know you like Miyoung.”

 

“How did yo—”

 

“She told me…so what do you say Jongin? Miyoung in exchange for what I want.”

 

“It’s not right Sehun. We’ll also be hurting Miyoung.”

 

“I don’t love her Jongin and she knows it, but she still sticks to me and I’m not about to let her go. Are you really content leaving Miyoung with a guy like me?”

 

Jongin got angry at his statement and punched him in the face. “Did you ever even like her?”

 

“No.”

 

Jongin punched Sehun one more time. This time he punched him so hard that he fell to the floor. “How dare you lead her on like that? I swear I will take her away from you!”

 

Sehun wiped a drop of blood from the side of his mouth while sitting up, “Then break Jiel’s heart and I’ll let Miyoung go free.”

 

Jongin yelled out and trashed his bed sheets and pillows around after Sehun left the room. “I’m sorry Jiel, but I have to save the girl I love,” he whispered with watery eyes.

 

 

 

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ExoticShawolinSpirit
#1
Chapter 8: Lool idk why i wanted Jongin to fall in love with jiel xD
abcd20 #2
I do really like it!!!